Killing of Aisha al-Rabi

Killing of Aisha al-Rabi refers to the death of a Palestinian woman Aisha Rabi, purportedly during a stone-throwing attack that took place on October 12, 2018, near the Israeli settlement of Rehelim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Following Shin Bet's suspicion that this was a Jewish terrorist attack, five Jewish minors were arrested in connection with the incident,[1] and one minor of the five was indicted of manslaughter under the circumstances of a terrorist act, while others were not charged. The incident was originally classified as a "nationalistic crime" committed by Jewish settlers against Palestinians.[1][2]

On May 14, 2019, the chief coroner of the Israel National Center of Forensic Medicine,Dr. Chen Kugel, concluded that the damage to Rabi's skull, which in his view had two points of impact, was too extensive to be the result of a single stone thrown at the moving car. Two colleagues dissented from his opinion, asserting that a rock could have caused the damage.[3] The youth maintains that the presence of his DNA on the rock may perhaps have been caused by him spitting on it as he walked around that area.[3]

The details

In the evening of October 12, 2018, Aisha al-Rabi, a 45-year-old Palestinian resident of the town of Biddya, a mother of nine, travelled with her husband, Ya'qub, in his car on Route 60 from Hebron to Biddya. According to the husband's account, a rock weighing 4 pounds was thrown near the Tapuach Junction and the car windshield was shattered.[4][5] Aisha al-Rabi, who was seriously injured in her head, died of her wounds. Ya'qub a-Rabi was lightly wounded.[5][6][7]

Investigation

Shin Bet investigations were led to focus on the Pri Ha'aretz Yeshiva in Rechelim,[8] which is located close to the road where the stones were thrown.[1][9] The Shin Bet suspected that the stone throwers came from that yeshiva because of an alleged lack of cooperation on the part of the yeshiva staff and students, and because the previous day, the yeshiva students allegedly blocked Route 60 near the site of the incident, in protest of a Palestinian terror attack against Israelis, near a military base in the West Bank.The same organization, according to a Mondoweiss report, stated that on the morning after the attack, several activists from the Yitzhar settlement came and taught the yeshiva students how to prepare for, and deal with, a future interrogation from Israeli authorities.[1]

At the end of December 2018, the Shin Bet arrested three students from the Pri Ha'aretz Yeshiva. The students were interrogated for a week in the Shin Bet security service after an injunction was issued preventing them from meeting with an attorney. Five days later, two more students were arrested and were issued an injunction against meeting with a lawyer. On January 6, 2019, it was announced that the minors had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Aisha al-Rabi.[10] On January 10, four of the detainees were released under house arrest.[11] On January 15, a Statement of Claimant was filed in court by the prosecutor on the intention to file an indictment against the minor who remained in detention.[12]

On January 24, 2019, an indictment was filed against the minor on suspicion of manslaughter, stone throwing at a vehicle and intentional sabotage of a vehicle, all under the circumstances of a terrorist act. According to the indictment, the minor threw a rock that weighs close to two kilograms in order to harm vehicle passengers of Arab descent. The main evidence is a DNA sample found on the stone that allegedly killed A-Rabi, which the prosecution alleges is that of the minor suspect[4][6][13][14][15] who denies the charges.

In May 2019, the juvenile was released to house arrest after a forensic report submitted to the court concluded that al-Rabi's injuries were not consistent with being hit by the stone.[5]

Responses

The US Consulate General in Jerusalem expressed condolences for Aisha Rabi's family and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.[16] Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Envoy for Middle East Negotiations, also expressed condolences for Aisha's family and called her killing "reprehensible."[17] The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov condemned the attack and called the Israeli authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin criticized left-wing activists for blaming Jewish incidents, claiming they were basing their allegations on "scraps of an incident."[18]

References
  1. Yumna Patel, 'Israel arrests five settlers in connection with October killing of Aisha al-Rabi,' Mondoweiss 7 January 2019
  2. Amos Harel,'Israeli ‘Jewish Terror’ Incidents Targeting Palestinians Tripled in 2018,' Haaretz 6 January 2019
  3. Josh Breiner ,Jack Khoury, 'In Murder Trial of Palestinian Woman, Forensic Experts Disagree on Cause of Death,' Haaretz 14 May 2019
  4. Callum Paton, 'Israeli Settler Teen Charged With Murder After Dropping 4-Pound Rock on Palestinian Woman’s Car,'Newsweek 24 January 2019
  5. al-Rabi killing: Forensics report of head of forensics institute contradicts indictment (Hebrew), Haaretz, 14 May 2019
  6. Nir Hasson, 'Jewish Terror Suspect's DNA Found on Rock That Killed Palestinian Woman,' Haaretz 23 January 2019
  7. Jacob Magid, 'Expert casts doubt in case against teen accused of killing Palestinian woman,' The Times of Israel 14 May 2019
  8. Jacob Magid, ‘Murder suspects’ yeshiva seen as a radical bastion in a more moderate settlement,’ The Times of Israel 8 January 2019:'Pri Haaretz opened its doors in the fall of 2016 and is home to roughly 70 students. The boarding school was founded by Rabbi Yehuda Libman, a former resident of Yitzhar and student at its radical Od Yosef Chai yeshiva.'
  11. Jacob Magid,'Court releases four of five suspects in Aisha Rabi killing to house arrest,' The Times of Israel 10 January 2019
  13. 'DNA of Jewish teen found on rock that killed Palestinian woman, court says,' Jewish Telegraphic Agency 25 January 2019
  14. Jonathan Ofir, Jewish stones are better than Palestinian stones Mondoweiss 24 January 2019
  15. Jacob Magid,'Court: DNA of Jewish teen suspect found on stone that killed Palestinian woman,' The Times of Israel 23 January 2019
  16. @USPalAffairs (15 Oct 2018). "Saddened to hear of the death of Palestinian mother of eight Aisha al-Rabi this weekend in the West Bank. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family during this difficult time. We urge the perpetrators be brought to justice" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 14 Jun 2019 – via Twitter.
  17. Greenblatt, Jason [@jdgreenblatt45] (15 October 2018). "My thoughts & prayers are with Mrs. Aysha al-Rabi's 8 children & husband. Mrs. al-Rabi was killed when her car was struck by a stone thrown onto the roadway. An investigation into this reprehensible act is ongoing" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 14 June 2019 – via Twitter.
  18. "US envoy calls rock attack that killed Palestinian woman 'reprehensible'". The Times of Israel. 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
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